Job

Well, I got the job. I start Wednesday at 6pm. They hired me on the spot and wanted me right away. So I will be working the deli counter. Should be interesting. I will keep ya posted. One great thing, is that I get a 20% discount on everything. That will be nice!

Update

I have a job interview today. Last night I filled out an online application for the new Fresh Market opening up here in town and I got a call this morning! So I am going for a job interview and I am going to see about a job! I think it would be a nice place to work, and if I have to work somewhere, I would rather it be there. So wish me luck! We went up to Tennesse to Justin's brother's house for Thanksgiving. His parents flew out and his sister and her family drove down from Ohio. We had a wonderful time! The cousins all had a blast and were crying because they didn't want to leave! We had great food and great conversation! On Friday we went to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium which was a lot of fun. And on Sat the gals all went shopping! I had a blast! I love that family! They are so great!!! This is Justin's last week of school before he has 7 weeks off for the holiday. I am ready to put the tree up and get all excited for Christmas! Yea! If any of you have any old Imaginext toys you want to get rid of, can you please let me know? Hilton wants TRex Mountain for Christmas and I am looking for a gently used one... anyway! That is the news for now!

Lorelai's first solid food

On Thursday, November 15th I gave Lorelai her first cereal... as you can see, she loved it! She ate like she has been doing it her whole life! She likes to grab the spoon, and she squeals if I don't give her a bite fast enough. I am a little sad. My baby is getting too big too fast! But it is a very exciting milestone! Unfortunately, it has not helped her sleep through the night. What am I gonna do with this kid?

Caroline's Baptism

On November 10, 2007 Caroline Judith Bates was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. We are so pleased with her choice to be baptized! She did awesome. Sister Awebry gave the opening prayer. I gave a talk on baptism. Justin performed the baptism. Then Sister Weurtenberg gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. (she is Caroline's teacher.) And then Just confirmed her. Caroline's friend Kennedy Duhon gave the closing prayer. It was a simple and quick service, but that is all it needed to be. It was over in 1/2 an hour. Caroline said that she felt the Holy Ghost and she knew she had made the right decision. She has been trying so hard to be good and be a good example to her brother. She is a great example. And I know that she will continue to strive to keep the covenants she made that day.

hair cuts

The kids got their hair cut last week. The baby did not... but Caroline and Hilton both did. Caroline got a ton of hair cut off. I was a little sad about that. Her hair is so shiny and straight and gorgeous, when it is brushed, but it is a hassle with this kid, so the short hair is the best bet. She looks very cute! As does the boy. I went back to the bowl cut for him. It is the only cut that works with his crazy cowlicks. And he looks cute!

Gumbo

We live in Louisiana now. So that means at Ward Conference the Stake leaders have a long way to come. So after church we had Gumbo. It is not my favorite cajun food, but I must admit I was happy not to have to make dinner tonight! We had Gumbo over rice, rolls, potato salad, and cake for dessert. My Gumbo was actually quite delicious, which is saying a lot since I am not a fan of this Cajun dish. The cultural hall was full of people from the ward. We all ate and visited and had a nice meal. When we got home we all had a nice 2 hour nap. We were all very sleepy and it was heaven. Even the baby slept for the full 2 hours! When we woke up, we read books and colored and tickled the baby. I made a box of mac and cheese for dinner! That was the best for me! And then it was time for baths and bed and breathing treatments and stories. As an update, I took Hilton to an allergist on monday. He is allergic to lots of stuff, and has quite a regime of medications that he has to go through everyday. At night he has to take a bath and wash with Dove sensitive skin soap. Then he has to be lathered with Vaseline. He needs to use Nasacourt nasal spray, then Zyrtec, then a breathing treatment of pulmocourt. In the morning he gets Singulair. Yea, it does sound like a lot. But I must say, after a week he is sleeping better and breathing better and seems to be coughing less. So maybe it is working!!! I would love that for him. He can act like a normal kids with out being breathless all the time. I had to go to the doctor too this week because I have been having trouble breathing. I had a chest x-ray, and some blood work. I will keep you posted. Lorelai went to the doctor because she has been tugging on her right ear. And she has not been sleeping at all at night. She has been waking every one to two hours every night. That makes it a total of at least 5 times she is waking at night. Her ears were a little pink but she didn't absolutely need antibiotics so I opted out of that. Her nose was a runny and she had a little cough, but she seems to be clearing up, so I think we are all getting over the hump.

lorelai

Party time

Saturday was Caroline's Halloween/ Birthday party. We had so much fun! And the best thing was that it was so cheap! For her birthday cake I made a graveyard with gummy worms and tombstones on top of the "dirt" of oreos. I carved jack-o'-lanterns out of oranges and used them as bowls for the ice cream. For the lunch we had bagel pizza's and spinach/artichoke dip (which is Caroline's favorite.) And I made homemade chips out of sun-dried tomato and basil tortillas. They were orange and green. I used cat, bat and pumpkin cookie cutters and baked them in the oven. We played "pass the pumpkin," "pin the wart on the witch," (I just made my own witch and warts) and had a "candy hunt." That was Caroline's idea. For goody bags, I made "witch's brooms" out of paper lunch sacks (Thanks Martha Stewart) and put candy in them. The kids all seemed to have a great time. The girl with the big blond wig is Sophie aka "Hannah Montana," Vicki's daughter. And Caroline invited the little girl's from across the street and 2 girls from her class at school. They all made a witch "craft." It turned out cute. Hilton was dressed as a mummy at first. He was so cute! As you can see. But it kept falling down. So he ended up retiring the bandages for last year's dragon costume. Vicki suggested using spray adhessive, so I am going to try that for Halloween night. All in all the party was a success. We all had fun!!!

Caroline is 8!

This is Caroline's birthday dinner. She chose to go to Chuckie Cheese for her dinner out. And we had a coupon! So off we went. The kids had a blast. We ate pizza and they gave her an ice cream sandwich with a candle in it and she hugged Chuckie Cheese. Justin played the games and I sat at the table with the baby while she slept. It was a nice night out. Of course this was last week. Caroline has turned 8 years old. She will be baptized in a week and a half! She is very excited! For her birthday Grandma and Grandpa Shuck got her a scripture case and marker and aunt Ginny and Uncle Rich got her a CTR necklace and frame for her baptism picture. Grandma and Grandpa Bates got her a white dress for her baptism so she is all set. Caroline is the best. She is an amazing helper. She has just learned to change the baby's diaper. She is always willing to hold Lorelai when I have to do something. She plays with her pesky little brother all the time. Even though they fight sometimes, she is great about keeping him occupied! She can get him to do things I can't! She is so smart. She reads like a madwoman! She loves Junie B Jones, Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, American Girls, and the High School Musical book seris. She loves to sing and dance. She is constantly singing to her High School Musical CD, with her brother! She loves her American Girl Doll who she has named Lizzie. She likes to eat fruit roll ups and Dove chocolate. She loves tuna fish sandwiches. Caroline is sweet and nice to everyone. She has tender feelings and gets them hurt very easily. She misses Rexburg and her friends in Rexburg very much and if she could live anywhere it would be in "Noggin." Which is my children's code word for North Ogden. That is where Grandma and Grandpa Bates live. Caroline is such a hard worker. She gets perfect scores on all of her spelling tests and she has been working so hard to do well in math that she finally got a perfect score on the timed math test! When Caroline was younger, she said she didn't want to be baptized. She said she was scared. Now that she is 8, she said she is ready. We have had 2 Family Home Evenings on the subject and have made it very clear that this is her decision. And it is a very important decision. She is to decide on her own if it is something she wants to do. She has assured us that it is her decision. She is very grown-up about it and we are pleased she has decided to make this step in her life. I love my girl. She is the light of my life. She is a great daughter and I appreciate her.